FL,
For what its worth.....the FAA has had that attitude with the US EMS Operators forever and to my knowledge have never enforced Part 135 Night Flight requirements re surface lighting for Night VFR despite knowing there are many large dark areas in our country where such lighting just does not exist.
I wonder what the effect of the FAA suspending a Part 135 Operating Certificate would be re changing attitudes about that as compared to the historical method of.....well you cannot say "seeking compliance" as they haven't.
I submit the numbers of accidents over the years might have been much reduced had the FAA placed adequate effort behind demanding adherence to the existing regulation instead of what they have done.
Anyone that has flown in the mountainous regions of the USA understand what I am talking about.....or out west in the wilds of Texas and other large expanses of nothing.
FAR Part 135, Section 207 is the pertinent Regulation and requires helicopters to have sufficient surface light reference by which to safely control the Helicopter.